Girl I'm so proud of you for having such determination and strength even though you feel like it's not going great! You are a huge inspiration for me. First drafts suck so bad sometimes I'm also in the midst of trying to push myself to write a terrible First draft even though my brain is screaming at me how terrible it is!
Lol, sounds really frustrating! I feel for you on this draft! Do you think it’s something your critique partner could help with? Maybe it could help to review your characters’ “why” - why do they belong together? What makes them click? What character traits do they love/get frustrated with/understand or misunderstand about each other? Then maybe the overall tone would improve? 🤷🏻♀️ I don’t know. I feel your pain. 😂❤️
I feel this! I was editing my NaNo 21 project for the last 2 years and for this nano I wanted to start with a whole new story that was in my mind for a veeery long time. I've been plotting it from time to time - mostly in my head I have to admit - and thought just a rough outline would be enough for this NaNo because I have so many details in my head. Yeah, turns out that was a bad idea and here I am, just writing down this whole crap story knowing that I'll have to change EVERYTHING :) But I still enjoy just the process of writing again after such a long time of editing. Really missed that. I hope you can keep your success and the next days will be easier for you! :)
I feel this so much! My story is such a hot mess right now, but I'm chugging through it. I've managed to keep a 10k cushion over par, which is helping through this messy part. I also got to a scene that I was excited about from the beginning, which helped remind me why I was excited for this story in the first place, but I can already tell huge revisions will be needed when it's done. Possibly an overhaul of the world I've set up...but I'll worry about that later!
Also, all 4 people -- all experienced NaNoers -- posted today that it's just not working... It's not funny, of course. But it's sort of weirdly a strong pattern. And all of you are "seat in chair," setting a great example. Thanks for sharing!
Ooo I feel like that often while drafting...it's cycles, isn't it? One day this is the best writing and this book is totally going to be a best seller, and the next it's total crap! I can totally relate to the frustration!
I was completely lost, as in first novel lost... I saw a video by Ellen Brock in which she suggested getting a big piece of paper, 3 columns: love, like, yuck (paraphrasing). Then dump Everything in a column. Each character, each chapter, all the things re setting, every relationship conflict, wounds, goals, theme? Symbols, anything! Then remember WHY you are writing this. What was the original excitement? Which column is that in? For me, the excitement things were floundering, and the "like" column had random unrelated things. So. I just started writing the original "love" things and feel much less confused. Massively confused, but much less. Of course, shortly after, I rewrote the entire outline. But this is a plus. Progress.
I'm in the middle of your video and I want to put my two penn'orth - I've been writing my crime WIP since NaNo 2021. I'm on 176+ thousand words! (Please don't laugh) There is no structure. I know were I want to re-jig but I won't until it's finished (those are the rules). My biggest problem is that I'm in love with my characters. I've another 40k+ document of another story with them and other various chapters of book two if it ever happens. Now this might seem mental but I began as a pantser not as a plotter. I understand its failings and am too caught up in the subplot of the romance and all other things around this (like multiple different meet cutes). This had me thinking it would be fine, eventually I would use a meet cute of my main characters in my crime novel and change it into another book. Change the characters . . . it would be easy. No it is not. I'm writing and I'm on 14K+, so behind for NaNo. Anyway, I've taken a different meet cute and turned it into a romance for NaNo. It's really hard to move to the next characters. I love my other ones too much. I think I have some good scenes but when I think about them, sometimes I'm still using the old names in my head. Its really hard to move on. Am I rambling? LOL I think so! The point is, maybe it always is hard to break away into another story, different characters as the other ones live in your head for so long. Good luck with the rest of NaNo - I'm off to watch the second half of your video! x
Thank you! I do think I've lived with Percy and Harriet for so long that it's hard switching to Alexander and Louisa. Ah, well. Hopefully I'll have better luck figuring them out when it's time for revisions. 176k is huuuuuge!! Do you think it's almost done or do you have more planned?
Girl I'm so proud of you for having such determination and strength even though you feel like it's not going great! You are a huge inspiration for me. First drafts suck so bad sometimes I'm also in the midst of trying to push myself to write a terrible First draft even though my brain is screaming at me how terrible it is!
Ahhh thank you 🥰 I think because I loved last year's draft so much I maybe have forgotten how first drafts usually go?! Keep going! You've got this!
Lol, sounds really frustrating! I feel for you on this draft! Do you think it’s something your critique partner could help with? Maybe it could help to review your characters’ “why” - why do they belong together? What makes them click? What character traits do they love/get frustrated with/understand or misunderstand about each other? Then maybe the overall tone would improve? 🤷🏻♀️ I don’t know. I feel your pain. 😂❤️
I feel this! I was editing my NaNo 21 project for the last 2 years and for this nano I wanted to start with a whole new story that was in my mind for a veeery long time. I've been plotting it from time to time - mostly in my head I have to admit - and thought just a rough outline would be enough for this NaNo because I have so many details in my head. Yeah, turns out that was a bad idea and here I am, just writing down this whole crap story knowing that I'll have to change EVERYTHING :) But I still enjoy just the process of writing again after such a long time of editing. Really missed that.
I hope you can keep your success and the next days will be easier for you! :)
haha I had a whole detailed outline and that isn't helping much at all 😅 Oh, well! The revisions will be a blast for sure.
I'm just glad I haven't started over hundred times this nano.
😅 I know that feeling!
I feel this so much! My story is such a hot mess right now, but I'm chugging through it. I've managed to keep a 10k cushion over par, which is helping through this messy part. I also got to a scene that I was excited about from the beginning, which helped remind me why I was excited for this story in the first place, but I can already tell huge revisions will be needed when it's done. Possibly an overhaul of the world I've set up...but I'll worry about that later!
Ahh it's so satisfying to get to those scenes you've been itching to write!
I am in the process of re-outlining, so definitely behind. But the new outline is much better than the first.
Cheers for a new outline! Glad it’s going well 🥳
Also, all 4 people -- all experienced NaNoers -- posted today that it's just not working... It's not funny, of course. But it's sort of weirdly a strong pattern. And all of you are "seat in chair," setting a great example. Thanks for sharing!
How weird! Maybe it's just this phase of the game. But yes, getting yourself to sit down and keep going is half the battle!
Ooo I feel like that often while drafting...it's cycles, isn't it? One day this is the best writing and this book is totally going to be a best seller, and the next it's total crap!
I can totally relate to the frustration!
YES the back and forth with confidence is WILD.
I was completely lost, as in first novel lost... I saw a video by Ellen Brock in which she suggested getting a big piece of paper, 3 columns: love, like, yuck (paraphrasing). Then dump Everything in a column. Each character, each chapter, all the things re setting, every relationship conflict, wounds, goals, theme? Symbols, anything! Then remember WHY you are writing this. What was the original excitement? Which column is that in?
For me, the excitement things were floundering, and the "like" column had random unrelated things. So. I just started writing the original "love" things and feel much less confused. Massively confused, but much less.
Of course, shortly after, I rewrote the entire outline. But this is a plus. Progress.
Oh, I love that! Thanks for sharing. I'll definitely try it out.
I have moments like that while drafting all the time. Just have to remind myself that revisions are a thing! Hope it's going well for you!
It's always a problem for editing you later!
This will definitely need major revisions 😅 I had good luck with that this year, so hopefully I can revise this to something halfway decent!!
I am at the point I absolutely despise my draft BUT I'm working and writing through the fog because I easier scenes are ahead
I'm a Rebel on draft two so I'm more confident than in drafting 😄 if nothing else.
I’m not even reading back through anything because it’s awful 😂. I’m still chugging through it. My goal is to finish this story and then edit.
I'm in the middle of your video and I want to put my two penn'orth - I've been writing my crime WIP since NaNo 2021. I'm on 176+ thousand words! (Please don't laugh) There is no structure. I know were I want to re-jig but I won't until it's finished (those are the rules). My biggest problem is that I'm in love with my characters. I've another 40k+ document of another story with them and other various chapters of book two if it ever happens.
Now this might seem mental but I began as a pantser not as a plotter. I understand its failings and am too caught up in the subplot of the romance and all other things around this (like multiple different meet cutes). This had me thinking it would be fine, eventually I would use a meet cute of my main characters in my crime novel and change it into another book. Change the characters . . . it would be easy.
No it is not. I'm writing and I'm on 14K+, so behind for NaNo. Anyway, I've taken a different meet cute and turned it into a romance for NaNo. It's really hard to move to the next characters. I love my other ones too much. I think I have some good scenes but when I think about them, sometimes I'm still using the old names in my head. Its really hard to move on.
Am I rambling? LOL I think so!
The point is, maybe it always is hard to break away into another story, different characters as the other ones live in your head for so long.
Good luck with the rest of NaNo - I'm off to watch the second half of your video! x
Thank you! I do think I've lived with Percy and Harriet for so long that it's hard switching to Alexander and Louisa. Ah, well. Hopefully I'll have better luck figuring them out when it's time for revisions.
176k is huuuuuge!! Do you think it's almost done or do you have more planned?
I am not looking forward to editing this NaNoWriMo work. I know there are paragraphs that are pure crap.